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Eighth grade exams 2021, 5 tips for unmotivated kids to better prepare them - Lifestyle

2021-05-26T15:50:06.117Z


(HANDLE) Once the titles and topics have been chosen, for our 566,743 adolescents (the data includes private individuals, Miur 2021 for Ansa) it is time to write the term papers for the eighth grade exam which takes place, for all institutes, from the end of school year and by June 30th. There is skyrocketing anxiety and discouragement for students in anticipation of their first real test of their school c


Once the titles and topics have been chosen, for our 566,743 adolescents (the data includes private individuals, Miur 2021 for Ansa) it is time to write the term papers for the eighth grade exam which takes place, for all institutes, from the end of school year and by June 30th.

There is skyrocketing anxiety and discouragement for students in anticipation of their first real test of their school career which happens in a difficult year between distancing, masks, quarantines and distance learning in fits and starts.

Covid has made them sadder and more unmotivated

. Hand in hand with the increase in concerns, there is a hunt for quick solutions with a wide range of ready-made essays offered by websites and on social networks (first and foremost TikTok and YouTube, on sites dedicated to students and even on the portals of publishing houses. ). There are also those who write the essay on request and the papers include concept maps, indexes, photogallery and presentation slides. Not to mention the parents bent over the texts to help their children. 

What exam will the 2021 exam be?

Will copying work already done help ease the anxiety? Copy yes or no? To chase away the bad moods of the children, here are the indications of ministerial leaders and the practical suggestions of their professors.


“Anxiety grows day by day, - says Elisa, 13 years old from Rome. - I wish I had more time to prepare. Instead we had the ok of the profs to our arguments and schedules only on May 8 and now we have a few weeks left to complete the essay. In the meantime we have just finished the Invalsi tests and the profs organize burst checks. I only have the weekend to dedicate myself to a job that I wanted to feel more mine but I feel tired, unmotivated and even annoyed. It was a bad year and I know this is my first important test, I would have liked to face it more calmly ”.


“This was still a difficult year due to Covid. We were very alone, I find myself at the end of the year with the feeling of having to run to deliver the paper by 8 June. We have little time, - replies Eleonora, 14 years old from Milan.


"The essay? I found it ready online where it is full of tracks, pre-made slides and on the chats they also give you many other live suggestions. I will make some adjustments to make it different and I hope to be able to take a better exam - confides Valerio, 13 year old from Rome.


What help do the children have at school to complete the work that awaits them?

Maria Rosa Silvestro, technical director at the DG for school systems and the evaluation of the national education system of the ministry of education, replies: "Teachers are expected to provide pupils with support and indications to better prepare the paper that may concern one or more disciplines. Collaboration between pupils and teachers is essential. There is time until June 7 to design, implement, but also correct the paper. There are many ways that pupils can choose for their work: written text, presentation including multimedia, map or set of maps, film, artistic or technical-practical or instrumental production ”.


The theses are ready online. Will the teachers check the authenticity of the work that the students will present in June?

Silvestro states: “The paper, the theme of which was shared with the teachers, must be an original project, which the student realizes on the basis of his or her abilities, skills, inclinations.

Why search the net when you can show off all your skills?

The teachers will be able to make the most of the creativity of their students. It is not correct to copy ready-made jobs. Pupils must undertake to re-elaborate the acquired knowledge, to organize it and present it in the best possible way. So every exam will be a success ".


“We teachers know very well that there are ready-made jobs on the internet. They are also found on the websites of publishing houses. We will not have the practical time to ascertain and check on the internet whether the papers will be authentic or not because we will receive them a few days before the start of the exams, - explains Chiara Maffei, professor of literature at the IC Indro Montanelli secondary school in Rome. - Instead, working on this paper is an

opportunity for growth that nourishes self-esteem if done by oneself

. I personally also think that copying is an art if it is done well, that is, making that trace of others yours, processing it and presenting it with mastery and ability in answering the questions that the professors will do at the exam, the work will pass well.

Instead, copy without metabolizing

, enriching and putting one's own

leaves gaps and uncertainties

so the truth will come out ”.


How are the students at the end of this year, are they ready for the exam?

Professor Maffei replies: “Compared to the exams in 2019 and excluding the online exhibitions we held last year, I see

unmotivated, really tired kids

. They don't seem worried to me, rather I feel them morally very down, with less vivacity. I confirm that the isolation, Dad in fits and starts, the lack of common recreational moments have negatively affected this year. Many adolescents have experienced family crises accentuated by their parents' smart working, many others have much more economic difficulties that significantly affect their state.

Those who were more fragile also could not recover

even if we worked in the presence Covid makes itself felt and has also made them worried ".


Professor Maffei, what suggestion do you give to the students for the preparation of the paper and for the upcoming exam?

“I tell them that this is their first chance to fulfill themselves, to do it in first person. I tell parents to motivate them but let them do it alone, not work their place. It is a time of great personal growth, in which they will discover their weak and strong points, they will learn to test themselves, they will grow in the true sense of the word. We will not evaluate them with dry grades but by analyzing this path, the progress of individual growth. It is an opportunity to have more self-confidence, to express oneself, to relate with us teachers as adults in exhibiting their works. The more they do genuine and original work, the more their self-esteem will increase ”.

Source: ansa

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